So This Is High School
by deepthinker1510
Summary: Follow Four  or more  young teenager through the heart-wrenching, humorous, and perplexing adventure of high school as they all learn and grow  or stay the same  as people.
1. Chapter 1

**_Ok so this isn't really based on this story, it's more inspired by it but nonetheless i hope you enjoy! Note: I switch viewpoints to another character in Chapter 2._**

Vada Preston approached the route #31 bus stop outside of her house on a typical overcast September morning with low expectations. She did this to, for what seemed rational in her vastly complex mind; avoid further emotional turmoil than she had already received.

She did not expect the upperclassman to be nice or administration to be helpful, she did not expect the boy she befriended through a prank call (and lost contact with last year) to remember her, and she didn't even expect her old friends to wave at her in the halls. It was all about starting over. Starting new. Moving on from the haunting memories of last year and making new friends, focusing on new classes, and creating a new life. No nostalgia would hold her back from her ambitions, and most importantly, her social life.

To her surprise, everything turned out to be the total opposite of what she expected that typical overcast September morning. Though this elated her at first, she would come to find that not all of these findings may have been something to jump up and down with joy about. The problem, however, was figuring out which one.

For over eight years now, Pine Hill High School has been rewarded as one of Oregon's most noteworthy schools. It has been rewarded the Oregonian Cup three times in a row, and has the lowest narcotic rate in the county. These positive aspects, however, have been overlooked due to a multitude of frivolous rumors started by the jealousy of the competing high school on the opposite side of town.

Tree Valley High School was the name, otherwise known as Pee Alley or Trash Valley, common nicknames given (as is tradition) by former students and carried on from generations ago when first built. Tree Valley did not speculate the academic achievements of this institution, nor the low drug rate, or even the astounding record-setting accomplishments (from a national basis) set by the track team. They only saw what they wanted to see. It was new. Untouched. A threat. Little did they know their ignorance would cause them to forget one very important universal rule: what goes around comes around. Not only would the school itself suffer, but a select group of students as well. This story in full is uncommon, but the very details happen to everyone, everyday, everywhere. This is life. This is fact. This is human nature.

"Vada! I _missed_ you!" Jane squealed as she hopped up to Vada and gave her a tight squeeze, much to her surprise. Barely two minutes in her new high school had gone by and already she was surrounded by old friends from last year, something she had prepared herself to avoid. Jane hugged her as if she hadn't seen her in years instead of only two short months.

"Missed you too, Jane" is all she could say. She honestly wasn't expecting such an enthusiastic greeting. After she stopped hanging around with Jane sometime in mid-June, she was positive that she would forget all about her, and the close bind of friendship that had connected them. Then again, it was always hard to tell with Jane. She was a complicated person, with complicated thinking patterns. So she was wrong.

"Oh well" she thought. "So it didn't go according to plan. At least I don't have to go through the trouble of making new friends…again."

Barely two seconds had gone by until she had noticed her lanky, drooling, crooked-toothed boyfriend gaping beside her with a glazed look in his eye. He looked like a bumbling imbecile, Vada thought, awkwardly standing beside her, practically leaning on her, with the most foolish grin on his face she'd ever seen. Part of the reason she had discontinued her…association with Jane over the summer was because of him. Despite continuous warnings about him, that he only dated her because he was lonely and desperate for arm-candy; point-outs on how he constantly followed them around (even when asked to leave, courtesy of Vada), and that, most importantly, he was a loser.

"You could do so much better Jane, and deep down you know that too!"

"But…he's so nice. And he loves me, and pays attention to me and-you've seen the way he's held me. It's so sweet, and I think I love him too…"

"No you don't" Vada sighed, slowly draining of patience. "I know you better than you know yourself, and you don't love him. You just want to believe that you love him, because you want so badly to fill that empty hole inside of you. Falling in love is not the answer, because you can't really love someone until you've filled that empty hole yourself."

"But-I care about him. I-I can't just…just hurt him like that" she stumbled over her words in an overly-innocent tone, as if she believed the extra enunciation would achieve in making her point.

"Trust me. Dump the loser. He's not worth the heartache."

"You…you can't make me do what I don't want to do!" she screamed weakly. Vada let out an exasperated sigh.

"You're right; I can't force you into this. You're too damn stubborn. Believe me though, by freshman year you'll be choking on your words. I'm leaving now."

"No, don't' go. Just because you can't get me to dump my boyfriend doesn't mean you have to leave!" she pleaded halfheartedly.

"It has everything to do with that. I know he's coming over later, and I also know that you're going to make me hide him from your sister again! I can't keep going against my integrity for someone I despise! Now goodbye!" With that last statement and an augment of rage, Vada Preston stormed out of the little house on Grate Street. "Pure waste of my time. A lost god damn cause. Stubborn-ass bitch! She'll regret this sooner or later, and come crying back to me" she muttered in a low, contemptuous growl.

Like always, she added in her mind. This is exactly like the other times. Her nine other mistakes. A god damn pattern that's never going to change. She's never going to learn, there's no way I can stop this. I just have to sit back, and watch her world crumble.

Jane didn't run after her, predictably. She stood at her window, gazing sadly out at her best friend as she departed in a rage. Less than a moment later she shrugged it off, turned away from the window, and continued her previously abandoned chores. Without a second thought.

"What an insipid loser" Vada mused, fixing her gape on the way he limply wrapped his noodle arms around her waist. At this point, Vada considered vomiting. Even physically, she felt a peculiar churning in her stomach. This was, of course, only due to psychological persuasion, but nonetheless, she was truly repulsed. "Please go away, please go away" she internally chanted to herself, hoping if it would actually take place if she thought it enough.

"Uh _hello_? Vada? You there?" Jane waved her pale hand in front of the vapid expression on Vada's face several times before capturing her attention.

"Huh? Oh, uh…"

"You forgot what we were talking about, didn't you?"

"Well…yes." It was common for Vada to lose her though in the middle of a conversation, even a sentence, but no matter the frequency, Jane never failed to become equally as frustrated as the time before. Vada has always been bewildered as to why she hasn't gotten used to it after two years, since everyone else has adjusted just fine. This thought she abandoned as well, due to her short attention span.

"My god, I swear, sometimes you are the dumbest person the planet!"

"An obvious and, highly inaccurate hyperbole," Vada reasoned, "considering my 4.0 GPA."

"Well just forget it, I forgive you. So let's check out our new classes! I'm not getting lost this time…"

"Ok sure, but does _he _have to come?" she sighed, pointing at whom she believed to be a mindless idiot.

"He has a name Vada" she retorted, grabbing tighter, as if to squeeze out the remainder of his pigment.

"Oh, right, sorry. I have a hard time remembering since she's had about nine more of you in the last three years. So what was it again?" Though her motive was to seem facetious, she had truthfully forgotten his name as well.

_**Stay tuned for Chapter 2...Okay so tell me how you liked it1! Constructive feedback would be loved even if if negative! I wanna know!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey guys! I got encouraged by the fact that one person added my story to their watchlist so I decided to update! But PLEASE give me feedback even just a sentence, even just a word! It would REALLY encourage me to update. Thanks! Now note: this switches to the viewpoint of the other main characters, but don't worry! Their stories will collide soon!_

Wendy Prass had never been religious, nor were her immediate family since the expulsion of her grandmother from the last church she attended for her "indecent behavior", otherwise described as "raging alcoholism." Her grandmother's antics have, though, made a strong impact on her daughter to uphold strong morals and clear judgment in order to "break the cycle" so to speak. So eventually, Leanna Carter met Jeremy Prass in college, over time developed a trusting, structured relationship with him, and took the next step by marrying him. They came to have two children, so one should not to develop personality disorders or become overly-spoiled and lonely. The firstborn came to be Wendy's older brother Harris, and Wendy arriving as the second, only eighteen months after her brother. Their names were chosen carefully-so as not to seem overly conspicuous or inflammatory, while at the same time not too common so as to cause confusion in the classroom.

As maddening as this all seemed to Wendy in her early years, this was her life, their life, and she had accepted that fact and moved on. For five years she battled it out, hoping to start a revolution in her small family arrangement. But at the age of ten her fighting days, to her dismay, had ended when she came to the realization that nothing could crumble the stone wall of her parents' code of conduct, something Harris had apparently accepted at birth. So at the start of fifth grade she waved her white flag and a new and improved, significantly jaded version of Wendy had appeared to replace the previous model. Her parents seemed pleased at this considerable change in behavior, and readily extended more privileges on her behalf. Wendy didn't seem to be bothered by such acceptance, she only welcomed the absence of household drama.

At fourteen she still reasons, "Why not? They aren't abusive, and they have few demands in exchange for the privileges I receive. Yeah they overanalyze and seem a bit controlling, but at least I don't need a 4.0 like those pitiful Communist kids over in China. Just a 3.8 will do. I'll survive in high school. Harris will show me the ropes. I'll do well, I'll do fine…"

Armed with self-assurance and a brother with senior-status, Wendy headed off in Harris's forest green Mazda to her first official day of high school at Pine Hill.

"It's not as bad as the vicious rumors from Pee Alley kids" Harris began reassuringly as he slammed the door on his way in the dilapidated dark green vehicle. "I had amazing teachers my freshman year, especially my history teacher. But honestly, don't get your hopes up on the language teachers. They're all branded crazy, just try to stay in the background as much as possible."

"Thanks…I suppose" she replied half-heartedly. As a generally reserved individual, Wendy didn't know how to respond to Harris's honesty, especially the part about the language teachers.

"You don't sound enthused" he remarked. "Don't worry so much about your teachers. Like I said…you'll survive. If you're smart you'll cruise on by, no matter the teacher. It's not true what the 8th grade teachers told you, about not being able to just "cruise on by without difficulty", well, not in our case. They just say that as a fallback, so in case you actually do have to try so hard you won't fail in the process."

"Alright Hare, thanks" she replied in a monotone voice.

"Just remember, we are the ones that don't."

"Ok" she agreed. Now she was beginning to feel too exasperated at her brother's rambling to appreciate his advice.

"You'll do fine" he repeated, for what seemed like the tenth time to Wendy. She acknowledged that her brother meant well, but also thought he sometimes became too self-involved to realize how frustrating his monologues could be to listen to for long stretches of time, _since there are so many hours in a day_ she mused.

"Hey, isn't that the girl who lives behind us. You know, the one who always blasts music from her windows and dances around in her underwear?" he blurted out shamelessly, pointing in the direction of Vada.

"Harris! Keep your condescending thoughts to yourself, we're in _public_" she whined. "I mean jeeze, she could have heard you, and for your information her name is _Viola_, not "that girl" she alluded incorrectly.

"Well _sorry_. Maybe you could take into consideration that I might not have _realized that at the time_."

"Yeah, like you never do…"

"Let's just drop this and head inside" he suggested, his face starting to redden. Harris knew perfectly well that the girl's name was _Vada_, and not _Viola_ as Wendy had claimed. He failed to correct her, partly because of the accumulating embarrassment from his unfiltered thoughts, but mostly to mask a deep fear that his sister would find out about the fact that he'd been watching Vada for weeks out of fascination. She'd lecture him incessantly on self-control, endlessly accusing him of being a pervert, and advising him not to "visually stalk the neighbors."

"Sounds fine by me…" Wendy replied wearily, and they both headed into the main entrance, unknowing of what to expect, each with a different array of problems in mind.

7


End file.
